Not Ready To Be a Queen
by AnimationNut
Summary: Sofia is failing Strategic Planning at Royal Prep, lacking the skills needed to craft a solid war plan. Roland wants her to be next in line for the throne, and she doubts her abilities to be a queen Enchancia needs. She just got used to being a princess-does she really want to become a queen? Perhaps a talk with Cedric will help her.


**I do not own Sofia the First.**

**Not Ready To Be a Queen**

The royal carriage flew through the crystal blue sky, a soft breeze brushing through the hair of the three occupants inside. Princess Amber and her twin brother Prince James were comparing their essays, which had just been handed back that afternoon. They were speaking softly with each other, eyes intense, as they discussed which one was better and why-they had both gotten the same grade (an _A-plus_) and so they had to decide by the content.

Princess Sofia, the stepsister of the twins, was too engrossed in her own thoughts to take offense from being excluded from the conversation. She hadn't shown them her essay mark, and for good reason. She had gotten a solid _F_.

She held her purple school-bag to her chest, lips pursed as she stared at the floor of the carriage. She didn't know how she was going to explain this to her parents. She didn't even know how they would handle it. They never needed to deal with failing grades before. All three of them were pretty good at school, even James, though he slacked a bit with his schoolwork. And this was much more than just _one _failing grade-she had amassed quite a few of them since starting Strategic Planning with Professor Chester Harrison.

"Soph?"

Blinking, she looked up at the sound of her name. James and Amber were staring at her in concern. "Are you okay? You look bummed. Is it about your essay?" asked James.

"Professor Harrison is pretty critical. We can help you see where you went wrong, if you'd like," offered Amber.

"It's okay," said Sofia hastily. "I'm just thinking."

Her siblings shrugged and resumed their conversation. It was not long before they reached the castle, and with a quick thanks to the coachman, Sofia practically jumped from the carriage and hightailed it inside, going straight for Cedric's magical lair.

After seven years, she still entered the lair without knocking, and after seven years Cedric had gotten used to it. The royal sorcerer glanced up from his spellbook as she entered, closing the door firmly behind her.

"Where's the fire?" he asked, slightly amused and a bit concerned by the way she was panting. "You didn't run all the way down here, did you?"

"Maybe," she wheezed, sliding down the door and sitting on the cold stone floor. "Hey, Wormwood."

"Princess," the raven returned, though of course all Cedric heard was a sharp squawk.

"Is there a particular reason why you rushed to see me?" Cedric asked, spinning his chair around to face the fourteen-year old princess. "You normally play with your little rabbit and bird friends after school."

Sofia thought of Clover, Mia and Robin, who were no doubt waiting for her in her bedroom to hear about her day. "I'll play with them later. I…I just…"

She trailed off, and Cedric stared at her expectantly. They had grown exceptionally close over the past seven years, and it had been a long while since the royal sorcerer attempted to steal the girl's amulet. She had given him the support and friendship he'd always needed, and the king had finally started showing his appreciation and admiration for Goodwin the Great's son. There was no longer any need to take the Amulet of Avalor-he'd already gotten the respect he'd craved for so long.

Sofia fidgeted for a moment before blurting, "I have a problem!"

"The perfect princess has a problem?" Wormwood asked in mock-disbelief.

"What kind of problem?" Cedric asked, eyes serious.

Wordlessly, she removed her essay from her school-bag and handed it over to Cedric. Arching an eyebrow, he took it and stared at the ugly red letter in the corner. "That's hardly attractive. What was this essay supposed to be about?"

"We were given a scenario in class by Professor Harrison," explained Sofia, resting her chin against her knees. "An army from a foreign land is advancing towards us, charging through neighbouring villages. We needed to devise a strategy to stop them _before _they reached our border, keeping in mind treaties and politics of the enemy land and ours."

"Good thing we weren't tested on war strategies in sorcery school," said Cedric, reading over Sofia's neat handwriting. After he finished, a slight smirk pulled on his lips and he said, "Merlin, girl, what world do you live in where this strategy would work?"

"My world," muttered Sofia. "I mean, it _could _work."

"It could," agreed Cedric. "But the chances are very, very slim. Professor Harrison used to be the captain of the Royal Guard, you know."

"I know." Sofia slouched against the door in a very un-princess like manner. "He never fails to remind us."

"Were you the only one who failed this assignment?"

"Apparently. I was the only one he pulled aside when the bell rang. He said that I needed to be more practical and forceful."

"Which is the nice way of saying that you need to be more apathetic," translated Cedric.

"That's the whole problem! I _can't _be apathetic. I know that this essay was purely hypothetical, but I couldn't bring myself to write down a strategy that would cause death. So I tried to take the peaceful route. Negotiation and bartering of supplies and treaties and all that."

Cedric studied the sullen girl for a moment. "This is not the first _F _you've gotten, is it?"

"No," she admitted, wincing. "As a matter of fact, I'm failing his class."

"Have you talked to your parents about this?" Cedric asked.

"No." Sofia bit her lip. "I know I should. But…there's another problem."

"How many problems do you have?" asked Cedric incredulously.

"Er…a few. Do you remember when Dad called me in for a private conference?"

"I do. I lost my sometimes-assistant for a few hours. I had to clean this place by myself."

A small smile curled across the girl's lips. "Well, he had some big news for me. When he retires, he wants to pass the crown to _me_."

A stunned expression crossed the royal sorcerer's face and Wormwood almost fell off his perch in shock. "Does your sister know?" Cedric exclaimed. "Because I haven't heard any tantrums lately."

"No. He wants to make the announcement official-he's just been so busy lately. But that's good for me. Here's the thing…I don't _want _to be queen."

It felt so good to get that off her chest, to finally tell someone. She'd wanted to tell her mother, but she'd been so happy by Roland's decision. She thought about telling Ruby and Jade, but she knew they wouldn't understand. They would think being queen was the greatest thing in the world.

"I'm guessing you haven't told you father this," said Cedric dryly.

Sofia shook her head.

"Why ever not, girl?"

"He's so excited for me. Him and Mom. They think I'm best suited for the throne, even though I'm not of royal blood." Sofia removed her silver diamond tiara from her head and stared at it sadly. "I love being a princess. But I don't want to be a queen. Is that selfish of me?"

"Selfish is not the word that should ever be used to describe you."

A soft blush crept across her cheeks at the praise. "Royal Prep was fun when I was seven. But it started getting less fun when I turned ten. It was no longer about etiquette or how to plan a ball. It's now all about politics, organizing armies and how to run a kingdom."

"That's the true point of Royal Prep. To prepare you for royalty. You didn't think you'd be learning how to dance for all eight years, did you?"

"No. But these new classes made me realize something. I don't want to rule a kingdom. I'm not cut out for it. I want everyone to be happy and I can't stand the idea of participating in war, if it ever boils to that point. I don't have Amber's coolness with the subjects or James' ability to craft complex strategies for war."

"So what do you have?"

Sofia blinked, thrown off by the question. "Huh?"

"What do you have?" Cedric repeated.

"Let me start you off," drawled Wormwood. "And it does pain me to say this…you have loyalty."

"Loyalty," echoed Sofia, and Cedric nodded approvingly.

"Go on," he encouraged.

"Um…kindness," continued Sofia slowly, and a bit self-consciously. She didn't like speaking of herself too much. It felt like bragging. "Modesty, I suppose. Generosity, patience, friendliness…"She paused and her eyes grew wide. "Not that Amber and James don't have these qualities," she said hastily, fearing she painted her siblings to be cool monarchs. "It's just that they have the qualities to _be _a ruler. The ability to make a hard decision and stick with it."

"You don't think you can do that?"

"Not like they can."

"Hmm," hummed Cedric. He leaned back in his chair and studied the teenager thoughtfully. In truth, she would make a fantastic queen. She could sympathise, empathize, and she really did love everyone. But she was also naïve, gullible and held faith in everybody. These were traits that made her a wonderful person, but perhaps not quite an effective ruler. There would always be those willing to take advantage of her, and frankly the very idea made his blood boil.

"I can't tell you what to do," he said finally. "The decision is yours to make and yours alone. Like I did. My father was Goodwin the Great, and it was expected of me to attend sorcery school."

Eyes lit with intrigue, Sofia tilted her head to the side. "So you decided what you wanted to do?"

"Well, at ten years old, you don't really know what you want out of life. But you have a vague idea of what you _want. _I thought long and hard, and in the end, I decided that I did want to be a sorcerer, even if it meant enduring fifteen years of schooling. Now here I am, and I'm rather happy. So the question is, princess, what do _you _want? And don't let grades or your parents decide for you."

_What do I want?_

Sofia narrowed her eyes as she concentrated. Did she want to become queen one day? Did she want the responsibilities? The stress? The rewards?

…no. She didn't. She never did.

She was delighted to be a princess. To guide and assist and encourage was what she was good at. She could take charge once in a while, for small-scale situations. She was a princess with peasant heritage. She wasn't a queen.

"I don't want to be a queen," she said aloud.

Cedric smiled. "Now tell your father, before he makes that announcement."

Sofia took a deep breath and nodded determinedly. "I will. Thanks, Cedric. Talking to you helps me a lot."

"My door is always open, princess."

The short-haired brunette nodded and, with a grateful smile, she took back her essay and her school-bag and left the magical lair. She had something important to tell her father. Amber or James would receive their birthright, and she would continue Royal Prep without feeling the pressure.

She was Princess Sofia the First. And she always would be.


End file.
